David Powner, GAO's Director of Information Technology Issues, said the problem is not that IRS does not have enough funding for technology — the problem is the agency is still relying on antiquated systems.

The development of mobile applications or apps is expanding within the federal government. The General Services Administration showcased some of the apps coming out of agencies at last week's FOSE Conference in Washington.

The General Accounting Office became the Government Accountability Office in 2004, helping cement an ongoing shift — from strictly financial accounting to broad program evaluations — at the congressional watchdog agency.

Federal News Radio set out to find out what it takes to produce a Government Accountability Office report. It turns out, a lot of hard work, a handful of dedicated employees, the patience for hours of painstaking research and maybe even some good old-fashioned detective work.

The Government Accountability Office issues hundreds of reports each year detailing billions of dollars in cost-savings. Its role is considered essential to the congressional oversight process. But last year, Congress cut the agency's budget.

Asif Khan, the director of financial management and assurance at GAO, and Mike Sullivan, the director of Acquisition and Sourcing Management Issues, joined Pentagon Solutions with Francis Rose to discuss two recent GAO report.

OMB controller Danny Werfel said the computer matching provisions in the Privacy Act make it harder for agencies to share information that would make stopping or finding waste, fraud and abuse easier. Senate lawmakers agreed they need to update the law to protect information but reduce the complexities.

The costs reported by the Office of Personnel Management to conduct background investigations and security-clearance checks for federal agencies have skyrocketed in the past six years, according to a Feb. 28 Government Accountability Office report released Wednesday. But agency customers are growing dissatisfied with the lack of transparency surrounding price increases and are starting to looking elsewhere, GAO auditors said in the report.

Stephen Lord, the director of homeland security and justice issues at the Government Accountability Office, testified that TSA still has room for improvement in three of its screening programs. He shared his findings in a House Oversight and Government Committee hearing on Monday and had highlights from his testimony on The Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp.

Two GAO reports find agencies lack oversight and controls over ensuring vendors buy the components for hardware and software from trusted sources. DoD is ahead of most agencies. It is using intelligence expertise to secure the supply chain of national security systems.

The Government Accountability Office says that even while the Army has made some strides toward improving its pay practices, the service is a long way off from the kind of data integrity independent experts would need to see in order to green light the systems as audit-ready.

Michele Mackin, the assistant director for Acquisition and Sourcing Management Issues at GAO, joined In Depth with Francis to discuss a recent report by GAO that found competition in some defense contracts lacking. Bill Woods, the director of Acquisition and Sourcing Management Issues, discussed efforts to create a streamlined system for federal contracting data.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) has sponsored legislation to revive the fast-track authority requested by President Barack Obama. Other senators, however, want more details before signing off on the plan that, in part, would allow the President to merge overlapping business- and trade-related agencies.

GAO reviewed the administration's implementation of the July 2010 memo calling for a government-wide review of financial management projects. Auditors found about half of the projects said there was no change in cost and three-quarters said their schedule remained the same.

The Government Accountability Office recently reported on 51 areas in which the federal government could cut, streamline, or otherwise reduce duplication. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro joined In Depth with Francis Rose to discuss the report.

The Homeland Security Department has had management issues since its foundation nearly a decade ago. But the Government Accountability Office is finding some signs that the department is heading in the right direction. David Maurer, the director of homeland security and justice issues at GAO